PROVIDENCE – On Friday, Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter gave final approval over the pension agreement between the city of Providence and its retirees, according to WPRI.com.

The original agreement was reached last May after Mayor Angel Taveras said the city may need to resort to bankruptcy if its retirees and public employee unions didn’t agree to significant concessions.

The approved deal allows the city of Providence to cap all pensions, suspend cost-of-living adjustments for ten years and permanently eliminate 5 percent and 6 percent compounded COLAs while moving retirees to Medicare.

Taveras told the news outlet that it was a “historic day” for the city and that he felt “grateful and relived.” He also lauded the retirees’ “sacrifice.”

Under the pension agreement, Providence is required to make 95 percent of the annual required contribution to the pension system for at least 20 years.

To finally complete the long process, Providence still needs to complete an agreement with the retirees who were members of Local 1033. The judge set a June date to finalize that deal, according to the news source.

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